China Railway Group invests 2 bln USD to set up regional center in Malaysia

Guests visit the China High Speed Railway Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dec. 11, 2015. The China High Speed Railway Exhibition, organized by China Railway Group, kicked off here on Friday to demonstrate the development and accomplishment of China's high speed railway. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Xinhua)-- China Railway Group Limited (CREC), one of China's largest state-owned companies, announced Monday to invest 2 billion U.S. dollars to build a regional center in Malaysia.

CREC president Zhang Zongyan said the company would make the investment to build an integrated office complex in Bandar Malaysia, a future transport, business and commercial hub for Kuala Lumpur.

Statically located about 7 km from the Kuala Lumpur city center, Bandar Malaysia would also serve as the terminal for the proposed high-speed railway linking the Malaysian capital and Singapore.

The announcement came three months after CREC's successful bid with its Malaysian joint-venture partner in December to acquire 60 percent of the equity in the Bandar Malaysia project.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak hailed CREC's investment as another testimony of the long-standing friendly relations between Malaysia and China.

CREC is one of the world's largest engineering and construction firms, and also has businesses, amongst others, in industrial manufacturing, real estate development and resources and mineral products. It currently ranks 71st in the Fortune 500, with a turnover exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars per annum.